


Welcome Home

by Cmere004



Category: Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-04-06 20:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4235721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cmere004/pseuds/Cmere004
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Owen promised to return to you after his time overseas, but he never returned. You decided to go on with your life when you run into him in the most unexpected of places.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This one is actually based on a few Prompts!!
> 
> onefish-twofish-redfish-goldfish asked: “…Could you like, do one where its like the reader and Owen broke up in the past and then like, then either something happens with the raptor with her or like, she gets hurt or almost killed my the indominus and owen is like oh blah blah blah i can’t see you hurt im sorry blah blah blah…” 
> 
> And anons asked: “Hi! Maybe Owen had to leave behind the love of his life when he went to the navy. He never went back because he was guilty, or something. Then one day, Owen finds reader at the park. You can decide if she’s a guest, or if she’s visiting :)”
> 
> AND
> 
> “Heyyy can you do one where reader and owen used to be a couple but broke it off due to whatever reason and the rest is up to you omgg thanksss”
> 
> A/n: Thanks for the awesome prompts guys! Love you all!

Watching him drive away was the hardest thing you’d ever done. You loved him, there was no denying that. However, you both agreed that it would be too hard to maintain the relationship while he was overseas. You decided to take a break and, when he finally came home, you would get back together if it were still meant to be. The only problem was, he never actually came back home.

You had sent him a letter when his mom passed, and you didn’t really expect a reply, but were disheartened none the less when nothing came back. You never stopped loving him, though; never even went on another date. You knew your heart would always belong to him even if he never came back to your small town. After a while, you decided you didn’t want to know why he didn’t return or even where he ended up. You went on with your life; saving up enough money for college where you began studying animal behavior. When InGen approached you through the Jurassic World Park with a job opportunity, you thought you’d give it a try. You’d never worked with dinosaurs exactly, but how different could it be really?

On your first day, you find out that you have to be analyzed before being placed with a certain dinosaur. This involves visiting every exhibit and listening to its trainer talk about their dinosaurs before you ever step foot in a paddock.

The t-rex exhibit was first, (weeding out the weak ones, you guess) and four of the nine people decide that they definitely couldn’t do that. It’s not a big deal to you, you’re not really afraid of big things. Next is the aviary: scary, but still doable. The Apotosauraouses are your favorite so far. The gentle giants just called to you. One actually came right up to you, sniffing you, and allowed you to scratch her head. It was the single greatest accomplishment of your life.

However, as you approach the raptor exhibit, you suddenly wished the T-Rex had eaten you. You see him up there on the catwalk, calling out commands and you panic. It’s been years since you’ve seen him, and frankly, you didn’t think you ever would again. You pull your hair back into a ponytail and put on your official park trainer ball cap, slip on your sunglasses, and try everything in your power to just not look like yourself. All you have to do is get through this and you’ll never have to see him again (at least that’s what you tell yourself).

He walks over to the group with that goddamned smug look on his face that you could never get enough of. He looks the same, but different somehow. He looks harder, and sadder, and less… trusting. His eyes don’t shine like they used to, and he doesn’t seem to smile much anymore, at least not genuinely.

The way he talks about the raptors nearly takes your breath away. He loves them. You can see that, because that’s exactly the way he used to talk about you way back when. You can see by the way that they react to him that they love him too or at least respect him greatly. You remember all your old fantasies of seeing Owen raise a baby and replaced that image with baby velociraptors and you were sure he made a great father. He seems to be just about to finish up when he asks if anyone wants to volunteer to go up on the catwalk. Obviously everyone is too afraid to so he looks in your direction and your blood runs cold.

“How about you, ponytail?” he asked, “You too scared?”

You can feel your posture straighten as his challenge sinks in. You shake your head, not trusting your voice and go to walk up but he put his arm out to stop you.

“Hold up now, first they gotta know your name. It’s all about trust with them.” He gives you a smirk, turning on all his charm and you’d be lying if you said it didn’t hurt your heart a little.

“Well,” you say, trying to keep your voice calm (and slightly different than how you normally sound) “Just call me ponytail.”

You walk up to his spot on the catwalk and call their names like he had, and they come running. However, after a few moments you hear someone yell “PIG LOOSE!” and you feel the catwalk shake as a keeper runs by you. He bumps into you, knocking you into the railing and you lose your balance, falling over into the paddock.

Your first thought when you hit the ground is how bad your ass hurts, but you quickly look up into the eyes of four preening raptors. You hear Owen behind you in the safety cage trying to get the door open when you stand up.

“No, stay down!” he shouts, sounding panicked, “they’ll think you’re challenging them. Just stay down.”

You ignore him, and for a split second you think that dying because of him might give you some sort of relief, but you press that feeling down quickly. Instead, you slowly take off your hat as you stand up and remove your glasses. You keep your body bent slightly, so they’re still towering above you, but you put your arms out.“C’mon now Blue, down girl. It’s okay.”

Owen finally gets in the cage and jumps in front of you, slowly pressing you backwards towards the door before you both jump through.

You sit on the floor laughing at the adrenaline pumping through your veins when Owen looks up at you. You remember you’re no longer wearing your disguise, but you feel no shame or embarrassment. He’s the one that deserves to be embarrassed. You puff your chest out slightly and stand up, brushing the dirt off your pants.

“Thanks. Thought you were just gonna leave me. You’ve always been pretty good at that.” You mood shifts as you say this coldly and begin to walk out of the cage.

Owen jumps up and grabs you by the arm, spinning you around to kiss you hard and you could swear you hear people cheering. His lips taste the same as they always did, but now they’re desperate and hungry. It feels like he’s pouring his soul into you and begging for forgiveness, but that just isn’t enough for you. You pull back, and look him in the eyes, actually unsure of what to say. You just shake your head, pretending there aren’t tears in your eyes as you turn and walk away.

You hear him behind you, “Y/n, I-“

But you cut him off. “Not now Owen.” You say, still shaking your head, “I juts can’t do this right now.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Here’s part 2! I know it’s probably not what you guys were expecting, but I needed the reader to talk some things out first, let you inside her head. Plus I really like this O/c.

He doesn’t follow you as you walk away, and for this you’re thankful. You can still feel his lips as you walk towards the employee trailer and find it empty. Once inside, you finally fall to the floor and begin to cry. Every emotion, every memory and moment hit you full force and you can’t help yourself. It hurts so much to remember him leaving and you never expected to see him again, let alone for him to kiss you like that. It’s just too much to handle at the moment. You let out a strangled laugh as you realize that you almost just got eaten, but you’re more concerned about your ex-boyfriend.

It’s a few minutes before someone walks in and sees you on the floor. It’s a woman, slightly older than you and she comes to sit by your side.

“I’m guessing you know him?” but it comes out more like a question than a statement.

“Used to. We were…together, I guess.” You put your face in your hands. “I haven’t seen him in years. Never thought I would again.”

She just nods her head stays silent for a few minutes. “He’s a good guy, you know.” She says and looks back at you, “I’ve worked with him for two years and he’s never looked at anyone like he just looked at you.”

You scoff, “He was just surprised. Bet he didn’t expect to ever have to deal with me again.” You let out a harsh laugh, “I can’t wait to hear his excuse as to why he never came back.”

“Never came back?” she asks, fishing for information.

“He promised he’d come back after his time in the Navy. That we would be together.” You frown and your heart hurts, “But he never did.”

Next, she says something that shocks you. “He never finished his time.” She says it as if she’s surprised you don’t know. “InGen pulled him from the army to work with the raptors,” she starts sounding excited, “that’s why he didn’t come back.”

You just shake your head, “He has a phone. He could have called.”

She seems to accept this and nods her head again sadly. “Yeah, I suppose.” Her apparent sadness finally hits you.

“Why do you even care?” you ask, a little rudely.

She sighs, “I’ve spent almost every day with him for years and I’ve heard it all, really. But I promise you, he’s never looked at anyone the way he looked at you.” She looks a little embarrassed then, “Plus, he asked me to come check on you. He said he’s sorry about the kiss.” She looks at you apologetically but you just sigh in return.

“What was your name?” you ask.

“Anna, you?”

“My name’s Y/n,” you pause, trying to decide if you even want to know. “Does he have a girlfriend?”

She laughs at this then seems to think better of it. “No. Never has, really.” She looks sideways at you, almost afraid. “He is quite the charmer though, if you know what I mean.”

You nod again.

“Please don’t tell him I told you that, he would seriously kill me.” She says and that makes you laugh a little.

“Don’t worry; I don’t plan on ever talking to him again, so your secret’s safe with me.” Instead of smiling, she frowns at this.

“Y/n, I know you’re upset, I would be too. But please, for me– hell for yourself, just talk to him. At the least it could give you closure.” She finishes, shrugging her shoulders.

You contemplate her words for a moment, “I don’t think I have anything to say to him.”

“Well,” she smiles again, “You could always just slap him and call him a dickhead for not calling. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s heard that.” She looks to you, worried that she said the wrong thing but you laugh, picturing Owen taking a slap from a girl.

“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day,” you say teasingly. “You know, Anna, I really like you.”

She smiles at this, “Good, I like you too! I hope you’ll stick around.” She raises her eyebrows as she says this more like a question.

You rub your neck, working out the tight muscles there, “I don’t know. It really depends on how it all goes.” You lower your voice, even though you’re the only two in the room. “I’m scared.”

You expect her to just nod or agree, but she surprises you when she actually asks, “What exactly are you scared of?”

“Well, Mostly, I’m scared he will have a good reason. That he will say something and I’ll fall back in his arms like nothing ever happened. I’m not ready to forgive him. Not yet.”

“I can understand that,” she sympathizes. “How about this, you just listen to what he has to say. Don’t respond, don’t forgive, and don’t give him any reason to think he still deserves you. Just let him say what he has to say, and then you can go home and think about it. Hell, you can invite me over and we can analyze every word!” she says this excitedly again, like she’s planning a sleepover. You think about it and decide that you at least want to hear what he has to say.

“Yeah, Okay. I can do that.” You nod your head at her and begin to laugh, against your will, “So, how close was I to being eaten?” You ask.

“Well, when you started to stand up, I thought it was all over.” She responds, returning your giggles.

“Come on, let’s do this.” She stands up and reaches out her hand for yours.

You take a deep breath and think to yourself, I can do this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Part 3 is finally here! GOtta love direct conflict dialogue

You walk out of the trailer with your arm in Anna’s and see Owen sitting on the bottom step with his head in his hands. He turns at the sound of the door and his eyes find yours before you look away. You stand in silence for a few moments before Anna pipes up.

“Ok, yeah… so you two need to talk. Well, Owen, really you need to explain yourself; she doesn’t have anything to apologize for.” He grimaces when she says this and places her hand on her hip, but then she looks to you. “Come find me if you need anything.” She looks sincere and you really can see yourself being friends with her.

You hold the door as Owen stands up, climbing the stairs and he follows you into the trailer. You go to the counter, leaning against it, and wait for him to speak. When he doesn’t say anything, you snap. “Well, I don’t have anything to say to you so if you’re not going to talk I’ll just leave now.” You look at him finally, crossing your arms angrily. He just stares as you, with a sad expression on his face and you push off of the counter and begin to walk towards the door but he grabs your wrist.

“Wait, please.” You rip your arm from his grip and cross your arms once more.

“Well then? Let’s hear it. What could you possibly say to fix this?” You can feel yourself grow angrier. Over the years, you only ever felt sad or guilty or lonely, but never angry. Not until now.

“Y/n, I didn’t finish my time. I-“

“Yeah so I’ve heard. Didn’t think you’d take our promise so literal.” you spit the words at him, raging inside and out. Just because he didn’t actually come home doesn’t mean he had to completely ignore you.

“Y/n, please. Can you just let explain?” He looks so sullen and hopeless. You almost feel glad that he feels so shitty about it; that’s how you spent years feeling. You shrug your shoulders, returning to the counter and stare at him, encouraging him to continue.

“InGen pulled me from the field, they said it was something urgent that they needed me for. You have to know I didn’t know any of the details.” He ran his hand through his hair stressfully. “I swear I thought that after I finished over here, I would get to come home. But then I found out it was going to be a long time thing. By then, I had already watched all four of the girls hatch; I couldn’t leave them.” He’s begun to pace back and forth.

You laugh humorlessly at him, “And in all that time you never came across a phone?”

“I didn’t know what to say to you. I didn’t know how to tell you I wasn’t coming home.” He sounded out of breath and you realized he was getting emotional. “Y/n, I thought I was doing the best thing for you. I figured if I didn’t come home that you would move on without me. I don’t know what the rumor was back home as to why I didn’t return, but I’m sure it wasn’t right.”

“I wouldn’t know.” You finally mumbled out meekly. He looks up at you and you continue. “Everyone told me you weren’t coming back, no matter how hard I tried to convince them that they were wrong.” You close your eyes and shake your head. “After a while, I couldn’t even stand to be around them. They wanted me to move on, but I couldn’t. So when news finally came that you weren’t coming home, I did my best to ignore it.”

He looked like he was in physical pain by your declaration. “Y/n, you have to know I just wanted you to move on. You’ve always been beautiful. I figured you would move on from me and settle down with someone, get married; you deserved that.”

At this, you lose your calm as you start shouting. “You didn’t even call me! All you had to do was say ‘hey, so it’s over, don’t wait for me, I’m not coming home’ at least then I could have forgotten about you. But I couldn’t! I wasted years convincing myself that if I just went on with my life, went to college and kept myself busy that one day you would show up and surprise me with some big heroic story as to why you took so long!” You have approached him by now, and as you get closer you point your finger at him, holding back the tears. “You could have made something up! Said something, ANYTHING! Goddammit Owen I waited for you!” You finally have tears rolling down your cheeks as you continue to yell at him angrily. “I never went on another date, I couldn’t imagine giving my heart to anyone but you and you didn’t even want it!”

You shove him back, but Owen grabs your wrist again, pulling you close to him. It shocked you so much you couldn’t even react. You just stood there pressed against his body breathless from yelling at him, with his eyes boring into you.

“You can call me a dick, yell at me, and hate me as much as you want.” He starts, sounding extremely serious as he looks into your eyes. “But don’t you ever say that I didn’t want you. You’re the only person I’ve ever wanted to spend my life with and it killed me to give you up, but I thought I was doing what was best for you. You deserved better than me.”

You have to take a deep breath to right yourself. Regardless of his intentions, he still went about things the wrong way. You step back from him pulling your arm from his, slower this time, less urgent.

“Owen.” You say as your voice cracks, as you try to keep it together. “You broke my heart.” A single tear slips down your cheek and he moves forward as if to comfort you but he pauses, probably thinking better, and stops himself.

“Please, Y/n. I’m not the kind of man to make the same mistake twice. I still love you, just give me another chance to show you properly this time.” His pleading eyes hurt to look into but you’re not going to let yourself be manipulated. Not after everything he’s put you through.

“I can’t, Owen. I can’t trust you anymore.” You look to the ground. The conversation has lost its passion and now just feels empty.

“What do I have to do?” he asks, almost frantically, “Whatever you want me to do, I will. I won’t lose you again.” He steps closer to you, but doesn’t touch you. “Please Y/n.”

You look at him sadly and take a deep breath. “Owen, just give me some time okay? I just need to figure this all out.”

He sighs deeply, but nods his head. “Well that’s not a ‘no’,” he teases, smiling softly and looking up at you through his lashes. You can’t help the small smile you get, but quickly change your expression back to serious and point your finger at him.

“But it’s not a yes, either.”

You’d be lying if you said you don’t still have feelings for him. However, maybe working at the park near him will be good for you. It’s not like you’re going to be working right by his side everyday…


	4. Chapter 4

“What the hell Owen!” You shout at him as soon as you get out of the truck and run up to him, shoving him hard. You hold up the papers in your hand with your job assignment and wave then in front of his face. “Is this some sort of joke?” You can see the confusion on his face but you can’t fathom that he doesn’t have anything to do with this. There’s no way out of all the exhibits, you would just randomly get assigned here.

 

“Y/n, clam down. I don’t know what you’re taking about.” He puts his hands up defensively but you can’t sooth your anger.

 

“I refuse to do this.” You stomp your foot and try your best to look authoritative instead of childish. You finally hand him the papers and he reads over them. You can see the moment he realizes that you got assigned to his paddock because he starts laughing. However, he quickly glances up at you and schools his face into a somber one.

 

“Y/n, I promise you I had nothing to do with this.” He looks sincere but you’re still raging.

 

“Yeah, because we both know how much your promises mean.” The words taste bad even to you as they pass your lips and the hurt in his eyes cooks you down a bit. You take a deep breath, looking down and begin.

 

“Owen. Working beside you would not be in my best interest. I’m not ready to forgive you yet and having you as my boss really wouldn’t help with that.”

 

He nods his head as his eyes find yours. “No, yeah. I definitely agree. I can try to talk to Claire if you want me to?” He asks, seeming almost as distressed as you are.

 

You’re surprised at his response and you just nod fervently. “Yeah, well…yeah.” You’re not really sure what to say now that you’re done fuming at him. “Please do that.” He smiles softly and nods back at you.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.” He gets a smirk then,“ I don’t think you could handle them anyway. They are pretty scary.”

 

You feel the challenge in his voice and try to ignore it, but it’s so hard with that look on his face.  
“I’m not afraid of them.” You say pointedly. “I’m afraid I’d throw you in the pen the first time you piss me off.”

 

He laughs at this, “Well, then that wouldn’t take you long.“

 

You smile genuinely and for the first time in forever, you wonder what it would be like to kiss him again. You realize you’re staring at his lips and he realizes it too. Instead of getting red, you just harden your features, schooling them back into seriousness.

 

“So yeah, talk to Claire about this.” You hold up the papers and add shyly. “Um, if there are any spots available with the Apatosauruses, I’d really appreciate that.”  
You can’t look at his eyes and you immediately regret asking him for a favor. You hate owing people.

***** 

When you get the call from Claire later that day, you sigh in relief. As it turns out, Owen really didn’t have anything to do with the selection and she was fine with having you transferred to the Apatosaurus exhibit. 

“Thank you Ms. Dearing. I just think it would be in everyone’s best interests if I didn’t work with Mr. Grady.” She laughs at this.

“Oh I definitely understand. He can be quite obnoxious.” That’s not exactly what you were talking about, but you don’t feel like getting into it.

“Yeah. Well, thanks again. I’ll just head over there now.” You smile to yourself, so relieved that you ended up where you wanted.

 

*****

After checking in and meeting everyone in your new paddock, Anna calls you and invites you to lunch. You happily accept and find her waiting in the Jimmy Buffet’s half an hour later.

She stands up when you approach the table and gives you a big hug. You’re not really used to having girlfriends, but she seems so nice.

“So, I heard things weren’t too bad.” She begins, fishing for information. “I mean, I only heard Owen’s side, but still…”

You indulge her and tell her everything that happened and she nods along, smiling at the appropriate times. “Well, I definitely think that’s progress. The least you can do is be civil with each other.” She snorts a laugh as she seems to remember something. “At least, you can now that you aren’t going to be working with him.”

You can’t help returning her smile. “You heard about that, huh?”

“Yeah, I heard you really let Owen have it.” You don’t even feel any anger talking about this with her, it just seems funny to you.

“Well, I was angry. I was sure he had something to do with it, but it turns out I just have terrible luck.” You shrug your shoulders and laugh.

“Can I ask you a question?” she asks, getting serious. “It will be completely confidential, I won’t say anything to Owen, I swear.” You bite your lip nervously, but nod to her.

“Do you think you will ever get back together?” You aren’t shocked by her question, having suspected as much.

“Honestly, Anna, I don’t even know. I’m still so angry with him. Every time I see him it brings back all the pain I felt when he was gone. I don’t know how I’ll ever get over it.” You take a deep breath and she doesn’t say anything so you continue. “But I do still have feelings for him. I mean, how could I not? It scares me to think that he still has my heart.”

She reaches across the table to place her hand over yours. “Hey, you’ve got plenty of time to figure things out. No one can make you do anything you don’t want to.” Her reassuring smile fills your heart with warmth and you thank her for her kindness.

You make plans to hang out over the weekend before heading back to the paddock. You watch the gentle giants and smile as you think about all the good times you had with Owen; you try to figure out if it would be worth it to forgive all the bad things. But you decide that it’s not something you have to figure out right away. Like Anna said, you have all the time in the world.


	5. Chapter 5

By your second day of work on Tuesday, you already know you’re going to love it here. When you’re out in the field with the creatures, you don’t even think about Owen or the past or any of the mess, you just revel in their beauty. The Apatosauruses are extremely big but surprisingly gentle. In fact, they love to be pet and hand fed; this probably is how they were treated as babies. However, you haven’t heard from Anna since Sunday, and you’re in desperate need of some girl time. Your coworkers, while friendly, aren’t exactly the type of people you like to hang out with, and you hate to call or text her, in case she’s hanging out with Owen. It’s just easier to not think about him at all.

By Wednesday, you finally give in and go to text her, but just as you do, your phone rings.

“Hey! Sorry I’ve been out of touch, it’s been so busy over here. We should hang out tonight!” The excitement and real kindness I her voice makes you smile, and you accept readily, making plans. When you show up to her trailer later, she’s got two beer bottles on the counter and a large pot cooking on the stove.

“It’s chicken and dumplings,” She says when she sees you staring at it. “The guys at work love it so I thought I’d make a big batch and take some in tomorrow.”

“That’s really nice of you.” You smile at her as she dries her hands and you both pick up a beer. “I guess you’re kinda like the mom of the group, huh?” you ask, teasingly.

“Well, more like the big sister I would say,” She returns, “I look after them, but they don’t always listen.” She winks and you can’t help but laugh at this. Being around her is so effortless; if someone as great as her trusts Owen so much, maybe you should too. But you put that thought out of your mind so as not to get sentimental.

“So, you said works has been busy this week. Is that not normal?” You ask her, trying to make conversation and she jumps on it quickly.

“Oh my gosh, yes!” Her eyes get wide as she tells you about the boy who got pulled into the paddock. You listen, slightly in awe, as she tells how brave Owen was, facing the raptors in the cage. “I mean, I know you probably don’t want to hear it, but everyone thinks he’s a hero.”

For some reason, talking about him like this doesn’t make you feel sad or angry, you actually smile.

“Yeah, well he was always hero material. He’s got that kind of heart.”

You take another sip of your beer and she smirks at you, “Is that right? Y/n, be careful talking like that, people might get the wrong impression.”

You laugh at her and ask playfully, “And what impression is that?”

“That you don’t hate his guts.” This sends you both into a fit of giggles.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want anyone thinking that.” You wink and continue to laugh with her. After the food is finished, you make a bowl and sit next to her on the couch. She puts in a DVD and you smile when you see the opening scene for The Little Mermaid playing.

“I hope you don’t mind?” she asks, raising her eyebrows.

“Are you kidding? I love Disney movies!” You can’t hide your enthusiasm that you actually have something in common with her. By the end of the movie, you’ve already got your ice cream bowls in your hands when someone knocks at the door. You hear his voice through the door and she looks at you, biting her lip.

“Hey Anna, are you home?” He calls from the door. You look at her and just nod for her to answer it, pulling the blanket on your lap tighter to your chest. She gets up and goes to the door, opening it just far enough to see him.

“What’s up?” She asks quietly, and you hear his response.

“I lost my keys to the paddock and I don’t have time to get a copy ‘cause I’m heading it at 5 tomorrow. Can I borrow yours?” She lets out a heavy sigh and nods.

“Yes, but this is the last time,” She says sternly. The thought of Owen losing his keys often brings a small smile to your face for reasons you don’t understand. “Wait here.” She says as she turns and heads to the kitchen.

Owen ignores her request though, and pushes open the door to walk in, only to freeze when he sees you on the couch. He quickly regains his composure and nods at you.

“Hey. Girls night in?” He asks, a little shyly. If you’re going to even contemplate forgiving him, you’re going to have to learn how to act civil. Glaring at him all the time is not doing anything for you. You put on a tight smile and try to look normal.

“Yeah, Little Mermaid and Ice cream. She sure knows how to treat a girl.” He chuckles lightly at this as Anna walks back in the room. She seems shocked at first to see Owen inside, but relaxes when she sees both of you laughing.

“I hope you two aren’t laughing at my expense,” She says, in mock embarrassment.

“No,” Owen pipes up, “just complimenting your dating skills.” This causes another round of snickers from the two of you and Anna holds out her keys, dropping them in Owen’s open hand.

“Thanks” he says, kissing her on the cheek. “I owe you big tim then looks to you and smiles.

“Have a good night ladies.” You smile back, unable to do anything but just nod at him.

When you hear his bike pull away, Anna drops next to you on the couch.

“Well, that didn’t seem too bad.” She says cheerfully, looking to you for an explanation.

“Yeah,” you rub the back of your neck, realizing how tense you had actually been. “I’m not doing either of us any good by being mad, I guess. Might as well at least try to be friendly. Especially since you’re his friend and I’m not really going to be able to avoid seeing him.”

Anna smiles widely at this, “Excellent point! In fact, this Friday some of the employees are having a bonfire down by the lake. I’d love for you to come!” You try to stop the grimace that flashes across your face, but she sees it. “You don’t have to, of course. He will be there, but maybe it will be easier, being with a group and not having to be alone with him.” She raises her eyebrows and you just smile.

“I’ll think about it.”

This gets you a smile from her in return and she answers back. “You’re coming.” She gets a smug look on her face and looks back towards the screen which she has now switched to television, “You won’t be able to stay away from him for long.”

You stare at her in shock and grab a pillow to smack her with, “Anna!”

She puts up her hands defensively, “Hey, hey I’m just teasing. You’ll do whatever you want to.”

You laugh at her and say, “Damn straight,” before she grabs a pillow of her own and hits the back of your head.

“Don’t challenge me to a pillow fight, because I will win.” You both laugh and continue to gossip for the rest of the night about work and home and the tabloids. It’s a new feeling since getting here to not be tiptoeing around Owen’s name and not to feel upset every time you hear it.

Friends, you think to yourself; Maybe you could just be friends.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: I feel like the plot is really starting to form so I hope you guys like this chapter!!!

When Friday rolls around, you still haven’t decided if you’re going to go to the bonfire. Anna has been pestering you all day about it, and she’s very persuasive. You haven’t really taken the chance to get to know anyone so you know it will be a good experience, but you can’t help worrying what will happen if you see Owen. You’ve been over a hundred different scenarios in your head and have multiple conversation topics that are safe, but you’re still on the fence. You glare at the skinny jeans lying on your bed. It’s been so long since you got dressed up and made yourself feel pretty, so that’s what makes the decision for you. You owe it to yourself to have fun and sitting at home all day isn’t the kind of fun you need. You text Anna asking for a ride and quickly get dressed.

You apply a moderate amount of makeup and look at yourself in the mirror. You can’t help the thought that slips through your mind: I wonder if Owen will think I look nice. As soon as you think it, you regret it. Tonight is not about Owen, it’s about making friends. Anna texts you saying she’s at the door and you walk out with your chin up and back straight. You have to look confident to be confident.

When you get to the party, you join Anna on a log by the bonfire. She is obviously popular enough that she doesn’t need to go making conversation with people as they will quickly flock to her. Everyone seems to be pretty nice and no one really excludes you from their conversation with her.

When one man comes up with a beer in his right hand and two in his left, you get a little suspicious. The first thing you were taught in college before any of your classes was to never take an opened drink at a party, but Anna is quick to take one and introduce you. His name is Lowery and he wears glasses that make him seem a little hipster, but you like it. He’s nice and funny and a really goofy guy and you really enjoy talking with him. After a while, Anna gets up to go get another drink and you stay next to Lowery exchanging stories about your first weeks on the job (although he has been here a lot longer than you have). 

You avoid the information about Owen, in case he’s a friend of his, but you feel really comfortable with him. When Anna returns, Owen is close behind her and she locks eyes with you immediately, “Sorry.” She whispers, shrugging her shoulders with a grimace on her face.

You just smile up at her. You are trying to be friendly, after all. “No worries,” You say as Anna hands you another beer and takes her seat. Owen comes up to Lowery and shakes his hand and smiles down at you.

“I’m glad you came.” His smile seems genuine and you try to return it.

“Yeah, well I don’t want to earn a reputation as a hermit who doesn’t like parties.” This gets a laugh from everyone and you’re glad you have a little alcohol in you; it makes things a little easier. “Anna was telling me that you a real hero this week?” It comes out more as a question than a statement as you bring up one of your prepared topics.

He suddenly looks embarrassed and slides a hand into his pocket. Your eyes automatically follow the movement and you snap your eyes back to him when you find yourself staring at his crotch.

“Yeah, well not a hero really. I had the lowest chances of getting eaten,” he smirks a little at this, “So I didn’t really have a choice.” He looks like it’s not something he wants to talk about so you drop it. But you know it was more to it than he says. He’s always been the kind of guy to step up in a crisis and risk his life if need be to protect someone else. You don’t know why he’s being modest about it, but it’s not worth the effort to wonder.

“Well, if someone ever gets stepped on by one of my girls, I’ll call you.” He smiles at this, taking a swig of his beer and you feel a little surprised at yourself. Is it the beer making talking to him so easy, or is it because you finally stopped holding on to the past? Lowery jumps in with an anecdote about someone who actually did get stepped on by an Apatosaurus and you try to listen, but your eyes keep straying to look at Owen. A few times he catches you looking, but you just smile, rather than looking away. If he catches you looking, it means he was looking at you too. That thought gives you butterflies and for once you don’t feel shameful about them.

By the end of the night, the four of you are sitting around the fire laughing and having a good time. You and Owen never cross the carefully drawn line you have of what is appropriate ad what’s not. He makes you smile and his smile does funny things to your pulse, but you don’t act upon them. You stop drinking after your second beer so that you don’t do something you’ll regret. However, you can’t stop looking at his lips when he laughs and smiles and it brings back whispers of memories from a different time when you were young and in love.

Anna asks you to go with her to the bathroom and you follow her. She’s about to explode by the time you get out of the guy’s sight.

“Oh my goodness! Look at you two, things are going so well! This whole friendship thing is working so well, I’m so glad to see you guys getting along.” She’s slightly tipsier than you are so her words run together a little, but you smile and agree with her.

“Actually, Anna.” You pause, not sure if you should say this right now, worried it might just be from the alcohol. “I keep thinking about the way things used to be. I miss being with him.” You place your hand on her arm and smile thinking about it. “I’m not saying it’s going to become anything,” You add when her eyes get big and she starts bouncing excitedly. “I’m just saying I might come to forgive him eventually. And maybe, I don’t know, maybe things might… happen.” She smiles big at this and hugs you.

“Whatever you decide,” She says looking almost tearful when she pulls back, “I will support your decision. I just want you to be happy.” You think to yourself what will make you happy and you can only determine one thing. The only way you’re going to be happy is by having Owen in your life; you’re just not sure exactly what role you want him to play just yet.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Okay, reader finally makes a decision in this chapter about her feelings!! I hope it doesn’t disappoint!!
> 
> You can find all previous chapters here: http://owen-gradys-little-lady.tumblr.com/Welcome-home

After saying your goodbyes at the party, you decide to drive Anna home as you’ve had way fewer drinks than she has.

“You should just stay over, don’t try to drive home,” She slurs out. Your trailer is only a couple miles down the main path from hers and, as much as you’d like to stay over, you decide to just walk home. You have a lot that you need to think about and mull over and it would be easier for you to do it alone. It takes a while to convince Anna that you will be okay, but when you finally do, you grab your satchel and start making your way home. You’re about halfway there when you hear the engine behind you. It sounds like a motorcycle. You glance behind you to see one headlight; it looks like a motorcycle. You beg to the gods that it isn’t Owen. However, when the bike slows to a stop right beside you, you close your eyes and take a deep breath. Keep Calm, he hasn’t done anything wrong… yet.

“What are you doing?” He asks sounding concerned. “Do you know how dangerous it is to be walking out here alone?” His tone reminds you of a fight you once had about this exact same thing years ago and you wonder if he’s remembering that right now too.

“I’m a big girl, Owen. I’ll be fine, thanks.” You give him a friendly smile and turn to walk away.

“Whoa, wait.” He sighs, “Let me at least give you a ride back. That way I know you got home safe.” That puppy dog look in his eyes does you in before you can even think to protest. You’re tired and slightly tipsy and frankly, you don’t feel like fighting him right now.

“Yeah, Okay.” You nod and climb on the back. He stiffens up when you wrap your arms around him and you smile slightly. Good, he should be uncomfortable. He deserves that.

Without a helmet or glasses, the wind is too much for your face so you press it into his back. His jacket smells so good, and the smell brings back intense memories of kisses and dates and long nights watching the stars. You close your eyes and sigh into him, subconsciously tightening your arms around him. When he begins to slow down, you almost don’t want to let go. It was nice for a few seconds to pretend that none of this happened, that you were young again. You think to yourself that if you could just let it go, you could be like that again. Even though he didn’t handle it well, he had good intentions. He just wanted to protect you and, let’s face it, that’s always been his number one priority.

You realize that you haven’t moved for a few seconds and try to shove yourself off the bike quickly; however, as you pull your leg over, you lose your balance and end up on the floor. Owen’s eyes go wide as he puts up the kickstand and jumps off to help you up, but he finds you laughing. You stare up at him in your sitting position and laugh once more before laying down flat on your back.

“You can just leave me here,” You say smiling, eyes closed. “The bed’s too far away anyway.” You hear him laugh at this and then feel him lay on the ground beside you. You open your eyes to look at him and he’s got his hands behind his head and his eyes locked on the sky.

You sigh sadly, not knowing what you want.

“Owen, I miss us.” You say, before you can stop yourself. You know it’s probably a bad idea to do this here and now but why put it off, really.

He doesn’t respond and you close your eyes. You wait a few seconds for him to say something, but he doesn’t and your brain starts to worry. Your first thought is, He’s finally accepted that we can’t go back to the way things used to be. He’s moved on. This makes you feel panicked and you realize that you take advantage of the idea that he’s going to wait around forever for you to change your mind. Maybe, he doesn’t want to wait anymore and is prepared to move on.

You open your eyes, looking up at the stars and realize the truth you’ve been fighting. You forgave him a long time ago, before you even came to Jurassic World. You forgave him, but you wanted to teach him a lesson. Granted, he really did earn it, but you’re better than that. You’re not going to fight your feelings any more. However, you’re not just going to keen over and expect everything to go back to normal; it will take a while for you to really let him back in, but you’re ready to try.

“I’m gonna go to bed.” You say, rolling to your side to look at him. He gives you a tight smile and stands up, pulling you to your feet. You dust the dirt off your jeans and smile up at him. You can’t tell him; you wouldn’t even know where to begin, but you hope he can see it in your eyes.

“Good night,” He says, and clears his throat. “See you around?” He raises his eyebrows as he waits for your answer, almost looking worried. You give him a soft smile and nod you head.

“Yeah, maybe we can get together at Anna’s for pizza or something.” You shrug your shoulders, trying to sound nonchalant. He gets a confused look on his face though.

“All of us? You mean you, me, and Anna?” His expression makes you laugh and you realize he really must think you’ve given up on him.

“All of us.” You give him one more smile, hoping he can read it in your eyes, and then you push up onto your tip toes. You slowly place a kiss on his cheek and you could swear his face turns red.

“Good night.” You turn around and walk into the trailer, running to your bed and jumping on it. You press a pillow to your face and let out a soft scream. After you get the adrenaline from the night out of your system, you run your hands through your hair and pull it up into a pony tail.

What on earth am I going to do now? You ask yourself, unsure what tomorrow will hold. You’re nervous, but slightly excited with butterflies in your stomach that have long been gone.

*****

You don’t dream that night, but wake up in the early morning to your phone screaming at you. You reach towards the sound, refusing to remove the blankets from over your head and don’t even look at the screen before pressing answer. The first noise you hear that morning is Anna shouting through your phone.

“YOU KISSED HIM?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: I’m trying to continue making time for this story. I really love the characters and I hope it’s developing in a way that makes you guys happy. Love you all!

owen-gradys-little-lady  
Welcome Home (Part 8)  
A/n: I’m trying to continue making time for this story. I really love the characters and I hope it’s developing in a way that makes you guys happy. Love you all!

 

“What were you thinking? What does this mean? Are you two going out?” Anna rattles off questions without giving you time to answer, but you’re too tired to answer anyway. You climb out of bed and head for the coffee maker while she talks at a million miles an hour.

“Hello? Are you even listening?” She isn’t annoyed, more anxious.

“Mmhmm Anna. Just woke up.” You drawl out but that’s not a good enough reason in her book to not answer the questions.

“So you did kiss him?” She starts off simply and you hold the phone between your ear and your shoulder as you pour coffee into you cup.

“Well, it wasn’t a real kiss. Just a peck on the cheek.” You smile softly remembering last night and thinking about what it’s going to mean.

“Yeah, I know that. But what does that mean?” You open your mouth to answer but then it hits you.

“Wait a minute, how do you even know about all this?” You put your hand on your hip even though she can’t see it and huff out a breath, suddenly annoyed.

“Well, he called me after he dropped you off, asked if he could come over. And then he told me everything.” She says it like it’s not that odd and you shake your head. You would have rather at least had a day to try to figure things out alone, but there goes that idea.

“What else did he say?” You ask, slightly curious.

“Just that he’s confused, and he doesn’t know what it means. That’s why I’m asking you.”

“Owen Grady asked for girl advice?” You can’t help the shock in your voice. You never would have imagined Owen to go to someone for help. But then again, Anna has been involved in this since you got here. It makes sense that she would help him out.

“Of course he did dummy.” She laughs as she says this as if you’re crazy for asking. “He already screwed this up once; he’s terrified he’s going to do it again.” You can’t help the slow smile that spreads across your face when you think about this. You really do mean so much to him that he’s scared to lose you again. “He’s desperately in love with you and he wants to do things right this time. Just tell me something that I can tell him .”

You laugh finally at this. “No! If he wants to know, he can ask me himself. You can’t cheat for him.” But Anna doesn’t take that as an answer.

“Please, Y/n. Pretty please. He sounded like a lost puppy last night. I’ve never seen him so vulnerable; just tell me something to clarify things for him. He doesn’t want to move to fast and scare you away.” You can hear in her voice that she’s pouting and she’s practically begging you. You don’t want to play telephone through her, but then again it would be nice for once for a guy to know what you’re thinking without you having to tell him.

You stay quiet on the phone for a second, deciding what to say.

“Tell him I want to try to start over.” You think to leave it there, but decide to add a warning label. “It’s not going to just go back to how it used to be, Anna. He’s going to have to earn my trust again, but I want to try. I miss him like crazy.”

She practically wails on the other side of the phone and begins screaming about how happy she is and how exciting it is.

“You guys are so perfect, thank you Y/n. He’s going to be so relieved, he really does miss you. Oh my gosh I’m so excited to tell him!” You shake your head at her; sometimes she is professional and poised, and then other’s she is a 5 year old.

“Anna, can I ask you a question?” You hear her go silent at the serious tone in your voice and she mimics it.

“Of course, you know you can ask me anything.” You bite your lip, wondering how to ask this gingerly.

“I know that Owen’s pretty popular around here, and I see the way that girls look at him.” You pause, not wanting to ask because, honestly, you don’t want to know. “It’s just that I was never, like, with anyone after he left. I guess I was just wondering-”

Anna cuts you off, sensing how uncomfortable you are to actually ask the question.

“I’m going to be honest, Y/n. Ever since I got here, Owen has been a major flirt. Like, seriously major.” You feel your heart sink at this, reminding yourself how you said you wouldn’t let it affect your feelings. “But,” Anna goes on, “I’ve never seen or heard of him taking a girl home. He may talk the talk, but he doesn’t walk the walk.” She laughs a little at her own joke and you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. “Besides, ever since you got here, he hasn’t so much as glanced at another girl.”

This makes you feel better and you ask, “Really? Like, not at all?”

“Seriously. I saw some girl try to talk him up at the party last night when he first got there and he wouldn’t have it. He shut her down so quick; it was actually pretty hilarious.” The smile returns to your face when you picture that.

“So you think I’m doing the right thing, then?”

“Girl, I knew from the second I saw him look at you that you two belong together. No doubt about it.” Her reassurance is exactly what you needed to hear and you’re glad she called; it really started the morning out on a good foot.

“Well, I’m gonna head into the lab today. We’ve got a baby girl hatching later and I want to be there for it. My phone will probably be off so if you need me, just radio me.”

“Okay, girl. Talk to you later!”

When you hang up, you feel almost giddy and you hum to yourself as you get dressed for the day. You forgot how it felt to feel this way about someone and you find yourself thinking about him way too much during your day; when you think about what you told Anna, you realize you’re dying to hear what Owen has to say. Maybe playing telephone with her wasn’t such a bad idea, but you’re going to have to face him eventually. You head upstairs to the lab and when your phone rings, you reach for it quickly, hoping it’s Anna. However, you look at the screen confused when you realize it’s actually Claire Dearing.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Wow it has been so long since I posted for this story. I’m so sorry!! The next chapter will be out much sooner, I promise!! I love you guys and hope you Enjoy!

“Hello?” You ask, trying not to sound surprised.

“Yes, hi Y/n. I need to talk to you.” Claire pauses for a second, but not long enough for you to say anything in response. “I know you asked to be relocated from your first position at the raptor paddock and I understand that it was for personal reasons, but I have had two people this week resign. I asked the trainer Owen, I believe you know him, to try to convince you to change your mind, but he said you were adamant about your decision.” Your eyes go wide as she talks and you can’t believe she’s asking you this.

“I have heard nothing but praise towards you in your first week with the herbivores and I’m calling to ask you to please reconsider. We rarely have interns who are not afraid of the raptors and they’re in desperate need of assistance over there.” She takes a breath and she realizes that you haven’t said anything but ‘hello’ during the entire call. “Y/n? Are you there?”

“Oh, yes. Sorry, I’m just very surprised. I didn’t expect this.” You worry your lip before continuing. “Miss Dearing, is there no one else available for the job? I’m not afraid of the raptors but I very much prefer working with the apotosauruses. In fact, I’m about to walk into the lab right now to watch my first hatching.” You hear her sigh through the phone and she sounds desperate for a moment.

“Take a day to think about it, please. We could really use the extra hands out there; get back to me by tomorrow with your final decision. Have a good day.” She ends the call without giving you a chance to reply again and you let out a long sigh. You love where you are, but she sounded desperate. Maybe you could work out an arrangement where you just fill in until they can find someone else; that would be good. All your excitement about Owen from earlier has turned to worry. Would working with him be a good thing or a bad thing? You just aren’t sure so you decide you will go talk to Anna after the hatching.

*****

Regardless of the morning’s news, the hatching left you in a great mood. Watching a new life come into the world is an amazing thing; and seeing a creature that you’ve only seen as large adults be small enough to fit in your arms was very exciting. However, you know Claire needs an answer to her proposal and so you decided to go straight to Anna’s afterwards. When you pull up to her trailer, your heart sinks. You really wanted to talk to her alone about this and you wanted to get a chance to talk to Owen about last night before you saw them both together, but you decided to get out of the car anyway. When you walk past his motorcycle and up the few metal steps, you see that the door is opened and you hear the two of them talking, although you can’t quite make out what they’re saying.

You give a small knock on the door frame before opening it. “Anyone home?” You ask teasingly, obviously knowing the answer and Anna’s face lights up when she sees you. She’s sitting on the couch with her legs crossed and looking towards Owen who is across the small room, leaning against the wall. When you come in, Owen straightens up and he gets a small smile, obviously surprised but pleased to see you.

“Hey! We were just talking about you.” You wags her eyebrows indicating they were talking about last night (and this morning) and you roll your eyes and laugh.

“Yeah, well I needed to talk to you about something.” You say to Anna. “Am I interrupting?” You turn towards Owen when you ask and he just shakes his head, seemingly unable to shake the goofy smile off his face.

“Not really.” Anna says, “Did you wanna talk alone or…” She asks carefully, glancing towards Owen quickly and then back at you. You can feel the awkwardness begin to seep in and you decide you’re not going to have any of that.

“No, it’s fine. Owen apparently already knows about it.” You wave a hand dismissively and go to sit on the couch beside her. “Actually, you may already know about it too. But I don’t really know what to do.”

Anna just gives you a smile, encouraging you to go on.

“So Claire called me this morning and she says you guys need help at the paddock, and that I’m the only person who she can find on short notice that would be able to help.” You follow her eyes as she looks at Owen, clearly surprised.

“You knew that Claire wanted Y/n? Why didn’t you tell me this?” She asks, a bit accusingly.

Owen looks slightly nervous but just shrugs his shoulders before looking at you. “You had already said no, and I wasn’t going to beg you to do something you don’t want to, so I didn’t feel the need to mention it. I didn’t know Claire was going to call you personally.”

You look back at Anna who seems to be thinking over something in her head when you pipe up. “Well? I mean you guys work there, only you know if you really need the help.” You try to sound willing to do it; surely you will be able to handle the job without your emotions, whether good or bad, getting in the way. She looks up at you and shrugs her shoulders.

“I mean, we have been doubling up on the work,” she looks then to Owen, “And you’ve been swamped with actually having to do your own paperwork for once. But, I mean, would you mind, working out there with us?” You know by ‘us’ she means Owen, and you nod.

“Of course, if it will help you guys, you know I’d do it. I was just a little on the fence about it.” You glance at Owen who seems relieved and happy once more. “I’m sure I can behave… professionally.” You add for him, getting a laugh from them both.

“Well, we’re hardly professional out there, so I doubt that would be necessary.” He jokes back and you genuinely feel nice smiling at him. Everyone seems to agree that it’s a good idea and you plan to call Claire the next day.

“Hey I was gonna make some fried chicken, why don’t you guys stay?” Anna stands and asks the both of you, and you glance at each other instinctively before nodding.

“Yeah, sounds yummy.” Anna walks to the kitchen and you roll your eyes that you used the word ‘yummy’. You stare at the floor as you build up your resolve. You might as well talk to him now and get it out of the way. You won’t get anywhere if you’re not honest and clear with your intentions and you can’t keep using Anna to pass on your feelings.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: I know this is an extremely short chapter (if you can even call it a chapter), but it was an important scene and I didn’t want to diminish it by making it part of a bigger chapter. Also, I figured you would rather have a short chapter now, than to wait another week for a longer chapter. Things are starting to get fluffy and a new (old) relationship is blooming, so I hope you are enjoying the story so far and that you enjoy this chapter as well. Next chapter coming soon! 
> 
> You can read the previous chapters here : http://owen-gradys-little-lady.tumblr.com/Welcome-home

When Anna goes into the kitchen, you’re left alone with Owen. Shoving your hands in your pockets, you turn to face him and say. “Anna called me this morning to talk about last night.” You don’t clarify whether you mean the party or you and him but he nods his head and smiles sheepishly and you know he understands.

“Look, Y/n,” Owen says, putting his hands up, “I’m not rushing you to make any decisions. I already told you I’ll be here when you figure things out.” He sounds so supporting and honest that you can’t help but smile. He really can be so sweet.

“That’s the thing, Owen. I mean, I don’t have everything figured out, but I’m not going to dance around the subject and deny it anymore. I do still care about you,” You look into his eyes and you’re surprised to find that saying this is a lot easier than you had anticipated. “And I miss the way things were with us. If it’s possible for us to get back there, I want to.”

He looks at you solemnly, waiting for you to finish. “My problem is that I don’t know how. I mean,” you feel yourself begin to ramble and you wrap your arms around yourself, looking away. “There hasn’t been anyone since you and I don’t exactly remember how relationships start; and this case is different and I want to just start over with a clean slate, but I know I can’t technically do that. It’s like I want you to prove to me that you won’t leave again, but I don’t know how you could possibly do that and make me believe you and I just-”

“Y/n.” You stop in the middle of your sentence and look at him. You just don’t know how to explain what you feel in your head to him, but he seems to get it as he looks at you. He gets a smirk on his face and walks towards you. “Would you like to go out with me next weekend?”

You stare up at him, having expected more questions than that and you’re honestly kinda shocked by it.

“Owen, I-”

“You said you wanted to start over, so this is me starting over. There’s no commitment or risks for you. Just a normal date.” He smiles down at you and the look in his eyes is so intense; you want to look away, but you don’t. “Y/n, let me take you out to dinner.”

You can’t see any reason why you should say no. This is what you wanted after all. You won’t know if you trust him if you don’t at least give it a try, so you agree with a nod.

“Yeah, Okay.” You give him a smile and he returns it. You hope that things can remain like this: playful and friendly and not awkward. You feel like it’s the first time all over again. Years ago, when he first asked you out, he was full of bravado and confidence and you only said yes because you were honestly a bit intimidated and taken by surprise. But this time, there was sincerity and kindness and you can’t deny the butterflies in your stomach. 

You both break eye contact to look towards the kitchen when you hear a quiet voice mumble, “It’s about damn time.”


	11. Chapter 11

“I’m not nervous.” You mumble as you fix your dress.

“Then why do you keep fidgeting? You look amazing.” Anna is sitting on her bed in her pajamas watching you turn in front of the mirror, making sure you look perfect.

“I just want to look nice.”

“Nice? Y/n, you look smoking hot!” She is so excited for you to finally be going out with Owen and honestly you’re glad she invited you to her place to get ready. If you were alone right now you might have ended up on the floor hyperventilating. “Besides, let’s be honest. It’s Owen; he would think you look great in a burlap sack.” She snorts out a laugh, either picturing you dressed like that, or that face Owen made every time he saw you this week.

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” You shrug your shoulders, figuring there’s nothing more to do. Turning towards Anna, you get a small sheepish smile on your face and say, “I am kinda nervous.”

She just laughs at you and you join her on the bed. “Why am I so scared? I mean, this is Owen. I’ve known him my whole life.”

She watches you with caring eyes. “Y/n, this is new for you. You haven’t been on a real date since, well you know, and it’s with someone that you really care about.” She places a hand on your shoulder and you feel yourself begin to calm down. “I bet he’s getting ready right now and freaking out worse than you. I mean, you’ve got nothing to lose here; he’s the one that needs to make the good impression.”

You smile slyly at her, knowing she’s right, but still feeling butterflies in your stomach.

“What if things get awkward? Like I start talking about the past or, God Anna, what if the waitress is like super beautiful?” You cover your face with your hands but Anna just laughs.

“Girl, you can’t even deny it anymore. If you’re that worried about this date going wrong, then there’s no doubt that y’all will be together very soon.”

You look at her between your fingers, now trying to hide a smirk. “Who knows, maybe I’ll surprise everyone and just catch the next ferry off this island.” You join in on her laughter, feeling much less nervous. You know your worries are pointless. Owen is crazy about you and you know that even if tonight went horribly wrong, you still wouldn’t give up on him. Once you accepted the idea about going out with him again, you already accepted the possibility that the two of you might actually get back to where you used to be. In fact, you’re really beginning to hope that will happen sooner than later.

*****

“Okay and you’re sure he’s already there?” You ask, glancing at the clock on the dash for the hundredth time.

“Of course, he wouldn’t be late. Now get out of my car!” You swallow hard and give her a stern nod.

“I can do this.” You mumble to yourself as you step onto the walkway from the restricted area that leads to Main Street.

“Now, I’m only going to come pick you up if you text me to, okay?” She looks at you and you grimace.

“What if he doesn’t want to drive me home?” You ask, nerves attacking you once again. She just rolls her eyes and snorts.

“Yeah, right. See you tomorrow.” She drives off back down the back road as you step out onto Main Street and head towards the Jimmy Buffet restaurant. 

Stay Calm, you tell yourself, willing your hands to stop shaking. As you get closer, you see Owen standing outside the front doors, leaning against the wall. Anyone else might think his position was one of composure, but you can see the tension is his crossed arms, and the tightness in his jaw. Oh, he was definitely nervous. This thought helps you adjust.

He looks up as he hears your footsteps and his jaw drops when he sees you. You give him a small smile, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear, but he’s looking anywhere but your face. His eyes sweep your entire body before he finally makes eye contact with you and you could swear you see him gulp.

He finally composes himself and gives you a breathless smile and you can’t help the feeling that courses through you. He’s looking at you in awe and for a moment you can pretend that nothing ever went wrong. You in turn eye his own choice of attire, slightly shocked that he’s wearing slacks. You half expected him to show up in board shorts.

“You look,” he pauses, clearly at a loss for words. “Amazing.”

You laugh softly, before returning the compliment. “You look pretty good yourself.” You feel something wash over you with the smile that your comment brings and you feel instantly comfortable with him. You walk towards him and he turns to open the door for you, his hand hovering on the small of your back as he ushers you inside.

The hostess seems to be expecting the two of you because when you walk in, she nods to Owen before grabbing two menus and showing you the way to your seat. She sits you in a small booth in the back of the restaurant where there are no families with screaming children or groups of teenagers on school trips. You appreciate the silence and slide into the booth, placing your clutch to your side.

“Your waiter will be right with you,” The hostess says, leaving the menus on the table in front of you and before you can say anything, he arrives with a bottle of wine.

“Good evening, my name is Jack and I will be taking care of you guys tonight.” He leans over the table to pour you a glass of wine before taking care of Owen’s and you smile at him politely.

“I’ll give you guys some time to look over the menu.” He then looks to you and gives you a warm smile. “Order whatever you like, Miss, it’s on the house.” He turns to leave before you can comment, but you look to Owen.

“It’s on the house?” You ask, with a sly smile. He looks nervous, reaching up to rub the back of his neck as he responds.

“Yeah. I did the chef a favor a while back.”

“Oh really?” You ask, pleased to already have something to talk about. “What did you do for him?”

His face gets slightly red and you wait in anticipation. What did he do that would make him blush?

“Well, what actually happened was…”


	12. Chapter 12

The two of you spend the entire night telling stories of things that have happened since he went away. Neither of you bring up him actually leaving or any of the repercussions of it; you only talk about the good thing, the funny things. And it’s honestly the best night you’ve had in a long time. Falling into that routine with Owen again is so simple, that you can’t believe you put it off for this long. Sure, he made a mistake, but he’s here now. He’s trying to win you back and it doesn’t look like you’re going to make it very hard.

After dinner, he walks you out the front door and the nerves start to come back.

“I’ve got the jeep back by paddock 9.” He says nonchalantly, unaware of your slowly advancing panic. So he’s going to take you home… is he going to ask to come inside? Does he think something’s going to happen tonight? You wring your hands nervously as you walk by his side, not really paying attention to what he’s saying.

“Y/n.” He says, pointedly.

You look up at him, distractedly. “Yeah?”

He laughs softly and says, “I asked what was wrong.” Your eyebrows furrow and you wonder if he was reading your mind.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re doing that thing with your hands.” He says, nodding down at you intertwined fingers. “You only do that when you’re stressing over something.”

For just a moment, the fact that he ever noticed that to begin with, let alone that he remembers it after all this time, shocks you. You stare at him, mouth falling open slightly before shaking your head to clear it.

“It’s nothing.” You say, looking back down the road, but he’s not buying that. He stops walking and reaches for your hand, pulling it away from the other.

“Y/n, I can tell when something’s bothering you. I don’t want you to think you can’t talk to me about things; I sucked at the whole communication thing the first time around and I’m not making that mistake again.” He looks at you with intense green eyes and you look down to the floor.

You don’t know how to explain it without embarrassing yourself so you just open your mouth and say the first thing that you think of.

“I just want to go home.”

Crap. That’s not what you meant.

His face falls instantly, but he quickly hides his disappointment. “Okay, that’s fine.” He turns around but you grab his arm, running one hand down your face.

“No, Owen. That’s not what I meant. I just… I want to go home alone.” You groan and close your eyes realizing that that sounds worse than before. “I mean I don’t want anything to…” You pause for a second, trying to think of the best way to put it, “Happen tonight.” You grimace, imagining the look on his face and you look up to meet his eyes, only to see his smile.

You’re momentarily confused and the look on your face must have been comical because he chuckles.

“Y/n, I wasn’t going to try anything. I told you, I’m doing this right this time; I’m not going to rush you into anything. This has to be your choice.” His words are intense but his smiling eyes make them seem more casual. He reaches for your hand again and takes it, continuing walking down the sidewalk towards the employee-only door. When you get there, he opens it for you and you walk through, trying to hide your smile.

Of course you made a mountain out of a mole hill as usual, but you’re glad you got past it. You’re in awe at how much more mature Owen has gotten now that you’ve given him a chance to show it. You continue to smile the whole ride home until he brings up the raptors.

“So are you ready for work on Monday?” He asks, looking over to see your reaction.

You school your features, pretending not to be anxious about it. It’s not the dinosaurs you’re worried about; it’s the idea of being around Owen all day. You’re not sure that being around man-eating creatures is such a good idea when you’re bound to get distracted. “Yeah, actually. Anna has been giving me a rundown of all the procedures and everything. I’m pretty excited.” He nods his head, with a look of pride in his eyes.

“Good, we can’t wait to have you out there.” He smiles while looking ahead as he slows the jeep down. “Here we are.” He says, getting a small look of confusion on his face before it turns into a comical smile. You follow his gaze to see Anna’s SUV parked out front of the trailer.

“She’s going to ambush me with questions, isn’t she?” You ask with a laugh that he returns.

“Oh, most definitely.” He turns off the engine to your surprise and gets out of the jeep. You undo your seatbelt and go to open the door but before you can grab the handle, he’s opening it from the outside. You smile softly at the chivalrous gesture, remembering that this isn’t something new. Owen has always been that boyfriend that opens doors and lends you his jacket and holds the umbrella. He walks you to the door up the small metal stairs and you turn to look up at him.

“I actually had a really great time tonight, Owen.” You don’t know what to say next as you’ve never been on a second-first date before, but Owen smiles down at you.

“Good. Maybe I will be able to convince you to go out with me again, then.” His smirk makes you smile and you give him a nod.

“Maybe it will.” You look into his green eyes and tell yourself that you’re not ready to kiss him. However, you know good and well that deep down you wish he would just lean into you and kiss you senseless.

You’re eyes widen slightly when he does lean forward, his hand moving to your neck. His thumb brushes the side of your neck and he places is lips on your forehead, giving you a soft kiss. You fight to not let the look of utter disappointment cross your face when he pulls back and gives you a breathtaking smile.

“Goodnight, Y/n.” He says before turning and walking back towards the jeep. You swear you can hear the sound of excited laughter inside the trailer as you go to open the door. Owen waits until you’re inside to pull away and you run to the window, Anna at your heels, to watch him go.

“Y/n, that was so cute.” She squeals as you watch his tail light fade into the darkness.

A small smile creeps onto your face as your hand goes to your neck, still feeling his coarse fingers there.

“Yeah. It really was.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: The story is slowly making its way to a close. There will still be a few more chapters though, so don’t fret! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and the whole story in general. Thanks to everyone who’s been such big fans of it from the beginning. Love you guys!
> 
> P.s I’ve been really sick this week so the stories might come out a little slower than usual, but they will pick up once I get back on my feet. :3 Lots of Love!!

You arrive to work on Monday morning with excitement in your bones. Just the thought of spending the whole day with Owen is enough to get you giddy after last night’s date, but you soon find out that you won’t exactly be working at his side.

“All of this?” You ask, looking at the scattered notes and pieces of paper Anna spread across the large staff-room table. She shrugs her shoulders apologetically.

“Yeah… none of us are really good at the whole record keeping thing.” You let out a deep sigh and you see Owen’s jeep pull up just outside the window. He gets out and looks around and you imagine for a second that he’s looking for you. The though gives you butterflies in your stomach and you force yourself to look down at the mess in front of you.

“Okay, I can do this. Where are the data sheets?” You ask and Anna brings over a stack of empty data sheets.

“I gotta get out there, good luck!” She gives you an encouraging smile and heads out the door and you watch through the window as she goes up to Owen and nods in your direction. You feel hope bubble up in you that he will come to say good morning, but Anna says something that causes his eyebrows to draw together in concern and he walks off after her. You take a moment to notice the change in yourself since the first day you got here. You were so angry with him and so determined to avoid ever letting him back into your life; yet here you are, longing after him again like a little school girl with a crush. Just the feeling of having him back in your life makes your heart feel so full it could burst. You don’t regret pushing him away at first; you really did need to heal. But you’re ready to get back to where you were before.

Finally, you decide to get to work on the papers in front of you. It’s not a big deal, all you have to do is copy down every single piece of data recorded on these loose sheets of paper—is that a napkin?—and transfer them to the appropriate data sheets, then organize them and track the data on a chart… yeah, this might take a little longer than you anticipated.

*****

You her the door open behind you but you keep repeating to yourself, “December 18th, December 18th” under your breath as you search for the corresponding data sheet.

You subconsciously realize that it’s Owen that walked into the trailer, but you’re focusing too hard to acknowledge his arrival. He walks up to the table as you are spreading out the papers, looking for the right one when he speaks.

“This one says December 18th.” He picks up a piece of paper and holds it out for you and you snap out of your trance. You glance at the date and give him a big smile.

“I’ve been looking for that for like five minutes.” You say and thank him.

“That’s what I’m here for,” He says with a grin and goes on. “I came to ask if you wanted to grab some lunch with me.” He slips his hands into his pockets and your smile falters.

“I’m really right in the middle of this,” you say, glancing at the messy table in front of you. “If I stop now, I’ll never find my place. I think I’m just gonna keep working till I get to a stopping place; sorry.” You hope he realizes that you are genuinely sorry; you’d love to go to lunch with him, but you need to do what you were brought out here to do.

“That’s fine, I’ll let you get back to work then.” He puts on a smile like he doesn’t care, but you can hear the slight disappointment in his voice; you know him well enough for that.

He turns to leave the room and you start organizing your papers again before calling after him, “Hey Owen?” He turns his head and raises his eyebrows at you.

“Tommorrow, yeah?” His face breaks into a smile and he nods.

“It’s a date.” He gives you a wink before heading out the door and you smile to yourself. 

*****

By the end of the day, you’ve gotten through about two months’ worth of paperwork and you’ve still got 7 more to go. It’s definitely going to take you at least a week. You sigh to yourself but convince yourself that it’s worth it because Anna and Owen need someone to do it and neither of them is capable of this kind of organization.

“Hey,” Anna’s voice breaks your train of thought and you didn’t even hear her come in. You spin around in your chair and give her a smile.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“You done for the day? I thought you might wanna come out and meet Blue.”  
She pauses and grimaces. “Well, I know you met them before, but maybe this time you won’t get so up close and personal.”

You laugh and remember that it wasn’t that long ago that you fell in the raptor paddock and Owen rescued you. “Yeah,” You say, standing up and grabbing your bag. “I’ll be much more careful this time.”

You turn off the lights and walk out the door with Anna by your side.

“She said yes!” She says with a smile as she heads towards the safety cage in which Owen is currently petting blue’s snout through her restraints.

“Good,” he says, green eyes on you as you approach and drop your bag by the door. “I’d say it’s time they get to know you better.” His warm smile encourages you to move closer and he takes your hand slowly. For a moment, it feels oddly tense and intimate and you try to remind yourself that Anna is standing right behind you.

Owen guides your hand towards Blue’s snout and places it there softly. You flinch when she jerks under your touch but you don’t pull your hand away; Owen’s smile turns proud at that. Instead of pulling back, you slide your hand down closer to her nose and she flares her nostrils, probably trying to smell you better. She finally settles and closes her eyes for a few moments and you breathe out a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding.

“I knew it.” Anna whispers under her breath and you turn your head towards her.

“What?”

“She still doesn’t even stay that calm with me. She only acts like that when Owen’s the one touching her.” You smile and glance towards Owen who’s eyeing Anna suspiciously.

“Well,” you say, drawing Owen’s attention back to you. “I guess I’m just special.” He smiles down at you and you see his faint nod but then Anna pipes in.

“Yeah or…” she leaves the sentence hanging and you can’t help but take the bait.

“Or what?”

“Or it’s part of their instinct.” She shrugs her shoulders and leans against the wall behind her, arms crossing, with a wicked smile on her face. “They respect Owen since he raised them and imprinted on them, but when I came around they didn’t take to me too well because I’m just another trainer. But I think they understand relationships…to an extent.”

You’ve pulled your hand from Blue’s snout and you’re looking at Anna totally lost. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying they can tell you’re his mate.” She smirks as she says it and you feel yourself begin to blush. Owen lets out a quiet growl at Anna before looking down at you looking nervous.

“Not like mate-mate. Just they realize that we’re-”

“Together?” You add, cutting him off. You give him a small smile before reaching out to touch Blue once more. “Looks like everyone’s rooting for us then, huh?” You say with a laugh and glance back at him. He looks almost relieved and that surprises you. Surely you’ve been completely obvious by now that you’re ready for things to go back to how they used to be. Maybe he just hasn’t noticed yet. But the thought of trying to explain it makes you anxious. You’d much rather he just picks up the hint. You think it over as you smile down at Blue and Owen finally speaks up.

“Yeah, I guess they are.” He takes a small step forward and places his hand on the small of your back and you hear the door behind you close as Anna leaves without a word.

You look up into his eyes and want to scream to him how much you miss his. Being able to kiss him whenever you want and falling asleep on the couch watching movies. You want to remember what it feels like to have him touch you and have his lips on your neck, your chest…

You turn slightly, without hesitation, and your hand slides us to his cheek, pulling his face down. His arms wrap around you as your lips crash together swiftly. The feeling is almost painful as your lips move together, memories of thousands of kisses like this before clouding your mind. You feel your body move on its own accord, swaying into him and his hand moves to your face, cupping your cheek as he begins to pull back. You immediately miss the pressure on your lips and look up at him with questioning eyes but he just smiles down at you, the smile that says how much he cares for- loves- you.

“I missed that.” You say breathlessly, licking your lips. He doesn’t respond, but just chuckles at your comment. “I missed us.” You add, moving closer to him once again. You close your eyes as he tilts his head back down to meet your lips. Just as you feel his lips brush against yours, you realize that you need to say it. Because no matter how much you were hurting, and how much you wanted him to feel the pain you felt, you can’t deny any longer that you’re still madly, desperately in love with him. Just before his lips capture yours again, you whisper to him.

“I love you.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: So this is the final chapter. Please don’t cry though because I feel like I will revisit this story one day with a sequel or prequel or some in-betweeners. I really love the way the characters developed in this story and I hope more than anything that you guys have enjoyed reading it. Thank you for all your support and feedback on this story as it means so much to me. You’re all awesome and I hope you get as much joy from reading this as I did from writing it.

For a large part of you young adult life, there isn’t a memory that doesn’t include Owen; tailgating at football games, dinner dates around your small town, curling up next to him on the couch. For a long time, you tried to block out every memory that included him so as to avoid the pain of remembering that he left you. But now, all those memories come back swiftly. A part of you wishes that things had never ended and he hadn’t gone away, but another part knows that you wouldn’t be who you are without the things that happened between the two of you, and for that you’re thankful.

However, these are not the kind of things that should be running through your mind as you’re straddling Owen’s lap and kissing him with such passion that you would be embarrassed if anyone walked in. You try to turn your mind away from the past and focus on the present: this man that you love that you fought so hard to return to is holding you closely and showing you just how much he missed you.

“Babe,” He says a little breathlessly as he breaks the kiss. “The timer.” You blink at him a few times before coming back down to reality and realizing that the kitchen timer is going off.

“Oh crap!” You climb off of Owen’s lap and run to the kitchen, grabbing a pair of oven mitts from the drawer. You let out a sigh when you see that your casserole is perfectly browned and you pull it out, setting it on the counter. “It looks perfect.” You smile and say as he walks in the kitchen and he gets a somber look on his face.

“I can’t wait. I haven’t had it since the last time you made it for me.” He always loved your pasta bake in high school and you loved to have him over and cook dinner for him, playing house as if the two of you lived together. Now you actually do and you couldn’t be happier.

“I haven’t made it since you left.” You say, and finally after weeks of apologies and pain the mention of him leaving doesn’t leave you an absolute wreck. “I hope it still tastes the same.”

You wave your hand over the casserole, urging it to cool so you can dig into it, but Owen wraps his arms around you from behind and places a kiss on your neck. “I love you.” He whispers and you raise a hand to run it through his hair, tilting your neck slightly to give him better access. “This place finally feels like home.” He adds and you smile sweetly, trying not to get too far gone. His hands find the hem of your shirt and you instantly blush. You’ve just finally gotten physical again and it still makes you nervous every time.

His calloused fingers glide across your stomach and you shiver as he trails his kisses down your neck and onto your shoulder. “I missed you so much.” His hands move up and just as he reaches your bra you let out a soft groan. He tried coming on to you earlier and you told him you’d had such a long hard day and you just wanted to relax, which is why you ended up making out and not in the bedroom.

He chuckles against your skin and slides his hands out from under your shirt. “I know, I know.” You turn around to face him, pressing up on your toes to press a soft kiss to his lips.

“Sorry,” you say with a smile and he shakes his head.

“Don’t apologize babe. You’ve had a long day. Let’s just eat dinner and then go lie down,” He pauses for a moment and you see that wicked glint in his eye. “I can give you a massage; work out all those tense muscles.” He wags his eyebrows and you laugh, slapping him on the chest. “I can make everything feel better Baby.”

“What am I going to do with you?” You ask as you turn back to the casserole and began filling a plate for him.

“I can think of a few things,” He teases as you hand him his plate. “But I guess those are more about what I’m going to do with You.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you missed out on years of doing me.” You reply with a smirk. “Now can we please just eat dinner in peace? With like zero innuendos?” You ask him exasperatedly.

“I’m not making any promises.” He says as he leans down to kiss your forehead before heading to the living room and placing his plate on the table.

“Good, ‘cause you suck at those.” You mutter jokingly and roll your eyes as you follow him, but you see him cringe a little and you instantly regret it. “Too much?” You ask and he just shrugs his shoulders with a forced smile.

“I just feel like as long as I can joke and laugh about it, I can make them into happy memories.” You say solemnly as you place a hand on his arm. “I can pretend it didn’t hurt so much.”

A soft smile spreads across his face. “I know.” He kisses your cheek this time, “I just wish I didn’t give you bad memories in the first place.”

You don’t respond to this, because you know what you want to say. If it hadn’t all happened, you wouldn’t be here with him right now, starting your life together in a job you actually like, living with the man who you know you belong with. But you don’t want to talk about it anymore.

“I love you so much, Owen.” You say as you place a hand on his cheek.

“I love you too.” He captures your lips with his for a quick, loving kiss and you lean into him. Maybe he will be getting some tonight, you think to yourself as you break the kiss and a completely different set of words crosses your lips. You look into his eyes and try to let him know exactly how much it means to you that you found a way back to each other and you never want to lose him again. You open your mouth and say the words you had prepared for his return all those years ago, that you never got the chance to say.

“Welcome Home.”


End file.
